Closed for repairs

We survived the general strike, which in Serpa amounted to the campsite reception, library and museum closing – everything else carried on as normal. We wandered into the town square, hoping to witness a protest or a riot, but nothing. The Communist Party posters – Death to the Troika, Death to the national government of betrayal – promised trouble, but it seems that most Portuguese wanted to get on with their daily lives.

D & I had spent one night in Serpa on the way to meeting Aussie Dad & Jan and thought it would be worth returning to check out the castle ramparts. Unfortunately they were closed for repairs – as far as we could tell, the most recent damage was caused when the Spanish blew the castle up some time in the 1700s. Taking their time to patch it up. The tourist office suggested that we try again in April or May.

S

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3 thoughts on “Closed for repairs”

Just quickly: Lars’ parents are in ‘Mijas’ (where they have a home) and know the whole south coast v well. They’ll be there for the next two months. Drop Lars a line if you’d like their email address and/or phone numbers. Love Simo (and Lars)

Love the gnarled tree…. Portugal made the news here ,we wondered if it affected you.
If the castle has been waiting for 300 yrs for repairs ,another couple of months probably won’t make a lot of difference ! [Obviously not shoddy workmanship ]

Funny moment in the tourist bureau in Serpa when David asked if the dragons holding up the lights in the square had anything to do with the city’s name. He was politely but firmly told that they were not dragons but winged serpents; apparently there is a subtle but important difference between the two. And, yes, the locals’ dream-time story is that the original inhabitants (some thousands of years ago) were protected by said serpent, hence the name. A dutch lady in the camp ground said she has spent so much time there that she is now officially “serpifide”. We wondered whether or not the Dutch do puns in English?